


A Pirate’s Life For Me

by nowjkjkjklololol



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-01-27 10:31:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21390691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nowjkjkjklololol/pseuds/nowjkjkjklololol
Summary: Pirate/fantasy AU in which Axel, captain of a pirate crew, ends up with a captive prince that he had no intention of ever taking, a mystical sword from a distant land that people are scouring the ocean for, and a whole lot more problems than the fire-loving pirate wanted.
Relationships: Axel & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> At this point, I feel like I should start apologizing for every new work I start right now - I have four active and updated stories going, so there may be breaks in how quickly I post chapters, buuuut this has been plaguing me and I need to put it out there 😬😅 as always, thanks for reading ❤️ And thanks to the WONDERFUL and AMAZING CatzRko0L who is spammed constantly with my stories and kindly reads over them for me ❤️❤️

The small shanty town of Traverse had been plagued by heavy rains and storms rolling in from the seas for the past several months. Townspeople were beginning to feel the strain as their economy, entirely dependent on their port and shipping their exports, began to flounder. Some were turning to their gods, begging for mercy, while others were turning to the taverns, giving away the last of their coin in exchange for some relief from the situation. It was a heavy, stormy evening like all the others, at just such a tavern in the falling town, where the beginning of its ruin would start.

Booming thunder shook the very walls, and rain flooded onto the already damp floorboards as the door slammed back on its hinges. A large figure was silhouetted against a stark white background as lightning filled the sky outside before a huge, booted foot stepped over the threshold. The man who entered the tavern was as remarkable as he was frightening; a huge mane of fiery red spikes of hair underneath a plumed, three-pointed hat crowned the tall, thin man. On his frame hung a huge, sleeveless red velvet waistcoat that fell to his knees overtop of a loose-fitting, sleeveless, formerly white shirt and tight black breeches. A sword hung at his hip, another two were strapped across his back, and he was toying with a knife held in one hand. Massive black leather boots thudded across the floor of the now terribly silent room as the man approached the barkeep, leaning up against the thick wooden surface with a disarming smile.

“Some mighty strong rain you’re getting tonight. Mind if me and my crew keep company with you fine folk?” Without waiting for an answer from the cowering bartend, the man turned back towards the still-open door and shouted in a booming voice that carried into the tumultuous night. “Ey boys! I found the drink!” In through the doorway came body after body until the redhead was surrounded in a half-circle. The people that had entered were a motley assortment; from a tiny woman with blonde hair and a wicked smile to a mountain of a man holding a sword so immense it would take two or three strong farmhands to lift, they all but screamed danger. The man, clearly their leader, turned casually back to the bar while flipping his dagger carelessly into the air and catching it. “What about it? I think a round of drinks is in order,” he suggested, his arm flying out suddenly and embedding his knife deeply into the bar’s surface. The man standing behind it yelped, tripping over himself as he spun to start dispensing the alcohol to the group as quickly as he could. The redhead nodded, looking around at the other patrons. “Oh come on, folks, we’re jus’ here to have a good time, same as you. Why so quiet?” None of the men seated at the surrounding tables was willing to break the silence first, and sinister chuckles began from the newcomers as the lanky male grabbed two of the tankards being set out and strode towards one of the tables. The man seated there paled drastically as the redhead slammed one tankard in front of him, spun a chair around, and sat in it backwards with his own drink in front of him. “Hey mate, drink with me.” The man was visibly shaking now, and did not move towards either the drink he had been working on or the new one that had been placed before him, paralyzed by fear. The redhead didn’t wait; he threw back his tankard, gulping the contents down in one go. His crew elbowed each other, and those who had already received a drink tried to hastily consume its contents as their leader finished and slammed his empty cup onto the table loudly. “Now that’s insulting. Here I am, bringing you a drink, and you won’t touch it?” His voice was deathly serious, and silence swept over the room again as even his crew fell silent. One, a man with an eyepatch and a long tail of hair streaked with grey, stepped forward.

“You’re right, captain, that’s mighty insulting. Mayhap these folks need a lesson in manners.” His lazy drawl earned a sharp bark of laughter from the redhead, who turned back to the man at the table.

“Ya know, we can tell when we’re not wanted. We’ll leave- we’ll even shut the door behind us.” He signaled his men, who began flooding out the door and into the rain with raucous laughter and whoops. Then the redhead turned back to the barkeep, hands on his hips. “You should really have a lock on the door. Never fear; we’re such helpful men, well lock it for you, too.” Then he turned and paced dramatically out of the building, slamming the door closed behind himself. No one inside moved as they all heard several thumps and bumps from outside, and then a terrible scraping sound grated loudly before silence fell once again. Those inside looked around at each other, feeling lucky to have remained unscathed, until-

“Does anyone smell...smoke?” a voice from near the door asked hesitantly, followed by a chuckle from the other side of the room.

“Don’t be daft, it’s as wet as...a...” The speaker fell silent in confusion as thin wisps of smoke began to fill the room. From the corner, someone else began muttering frantically, standing up and casting about as if looking for another avenue of escape.

“Pirates, only one pirate could...Axel the Firebrand, with the burning hair...” The man suddenly dashed to the door, struggling to yank it open, but it would not budge. Another two men leapt forward, one going to aid with the door and the other rushing towards the single, small window in the dingy tavern. When the shutters were pulled back, a dark cloud of smoke rushed in, chased by small tongues of fire and a shower of sparks. Pandemonium erupted. The bartender dashed forward with a heavy club that had been hidden, while other men grabbed anything they could use to try to batter down the door, but nothing would budge the thick, heavy wood. The man who’d been muttering about pirates was shrieking as he stared out the window, and others came to try to escape from that avenue but froze in horror when they looked out; the town itself was ablaze. Townspeople were running out into the rain screaming, only to be chased down and brutally taken care of by the pirates ransacking their homes and shops. A viscous purple liquid covered the damp wood of the town’s structures, allowing them to catch fire and burn as quickly and easily as kindling.

The pirates were horribly efficient, and it wasn’t long before the cacophony of screams and shouts had died down to nothing but the crackle and hiss of still-burning fires and the snapping of damaged wood as it collapsed under the never ending rain. The pirate captain, Axel the Firebrand, stood in the ruins of the town’s central plaza, casually biting into an apple.

“Alright men, load what you can and let’s get moving. I want us back on the seas in the next two hours.” He tossed the partially eaten fruit over his shoulder as he swaggered off towards where they’d docked his ship, leaving his crew to gather anything of use that hadn’t been burned or damaged and haul it aboard. Whistling a jaunty tune to himself, he practically skipped over the bodies and debris; Axel was always in a better mood when he was setting things on fire.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤️🙏 to my oh-so-fantastic reader CatzRko0L

There was a crisp wind blowing through the meadow when the hunting party made it to the clearing. King Terra and his Queen, Lady Aqua, had announced a feast to celebrate the twentieth birthday of their beloved triplets, and had sent out a much larger party of hunters than usual. So large, in fact, that they’d even decided to send their two male children to lead it. Ventus shone in the role, ever the golden child and the heir to the throne, but Roxas...

Roxas hated every second he was forced out of their home. He hated the sun as it beat down upon them, covering the blonde in a sticky sheen of sweat that no amount of water or wine could abate. He hated the acrid stench of the men and the horses and the kills, too close together as they made their way back to the castle. He hated the way everyone fawned over and praised Ven, despite the fact that he would be much more irritated if they were all trying to talk to him. He hated that his parents let their sister remain, working on her damned sketches, but forced him to attend even though they knew he would prefer to be working on HIS studies; their head mage, Yen Sid, was going to finally introduce him to the artifact which had enabled his parents to free the kingdom and take the throne so many years ago, the Kingdom Key...Roxas’s musings were interrupted by the sight of the men around them dismounting. Oh, of all the cursed luck. Refusing to get off his horse, he trotted over to where his brother was standing in a circle of the hunters, halting his mount behind his nearly identical sibling. Ventus was laughing heartily at something the nobleman’s son beside him had said, and Roxas rolled his eyes dramatically. He had no time or patience with endearing himself to the wealthy families that made up the court. Once they were done, Roxas coughed notably to gain attention; Ventus spun and turned that beaming smile onto him.

“Brother! Come, we’re going to stop for lunch, rest with me,” Ventus requested sincerely, but Roxas shook his head.

“I’d rather return home, myself. We’re close enough,” he said brusquely, looking off in the direction of their castle he knew to be not three miles away. Ventus sighed heavily, waving over a member of their personal guard who’d accompanied them.

“Alright, Roxas, but at least take someone with you. You never know what could be in the woods,” Ventus implored, and Roxas nodded. Whatever would get him on the path to home and away from the loud, smelly, pompous, and rich. They gripped arms briefly before Roxas turned his mount, waited for the other man, and then kicked his horse into motion, riding towards the castle at a quick clip. The journey was peaceful, quiet save for the sounds of their travel, and it wasn’t long before hooves were clattering over the smooth stones of the main road leading to the castle. Roxas dismounted immediately upon entering the stone walls he called home, handing his reins to the guard with a plea for him to stable both beasts before he paced off to his room. He needed a bath. And new clothes. He caught the first member of their household staff he could find and asked for them to send someone to draw his bath, and then went to the east wing of the castle; he and his siblings’ quarters. On the way, he caught sight of his sister Naminé in their common area, drawing away with her back to him in front of one of the large windows, bathed in sunlight that practically made her glow. 

His sister was unique, special. She drew with and on anything she could get her hands on, until their parents had finally conceded and sent for an artist to come give her lessons and supply the castle. It turned out the tutor was unnecessary, however, as one of her first works had been so beautiful it had made the artist cry. From that point on, the king and queen fostered her talents, and she never tired of practicing her craft. One of Roxas’s favorite things, though, were the stories she told to go along with her pieces. She drew a knight in golden armor for him once, locked in a battle with a black-armored knight bearing down on him, and she told it as if she had been at the man’s side in battle. It was, she claimed, the story of one of the knights fighting in the Battle for the Kingdom, but Roxas was skeptical; their parents forbid them to ask questions or be told the story of the Battle for the Kingdom until they were older. Her drawings and eventual paintings weren’t always of glorious battles and knights. She drew a woman washing laundry and told of her life and her family and how she could sing like a bird but would only do it if no one was around. She drew a black kitten and told of how it had hunted down a grasshopper in the tall grass and then cleaned itself for an hour after it’s meal. She drew a meadow, she told him, that had never been seen by people before and was in a far-away and unclaimed land. Sometimes she would draw several images of the same story, like a princess on her balcony paired with a lonely prince looking up at the moon when telling of the two star crossed lovers. When they were younger, Roxas would sit at her side and watch her work for hours, listening to her reciting even minute details about the subjects of her work. He’d always thought Naminé was magic. 

Curious to see what story she would be telling him next, he walked around behind her and looked down at her work area, somewhat surprised. She was drawing pirates. Pirates and ruffians and thugs, page after page; there had to be at least twenty drawings of different, dangerous-looking villains. A petite, laughing woman with odd blonde hair and blood dripping from her cheek. A man with long, shaggy pink hair and wonderful boots that came almost past his knees. Another man, with hair as blue as the sky and two huge scars that formed an ‘x’ between his eyes. A tiny, black-haired woman with a red and white bandanna and a scimitar almost as long as she was tall; she looked like a mirror reflection of Naminé herself but was drawn mid-air in a leap, swinging her blade. The one under her hands was the most amazing and terrifying thing he had ever seen, though, and he felt his heart begin to race as he watched her add detailing and ornate embroidery onto a glorious, obscenely long, sleeveless waistcoat. This must be the captain of her band of pirates. 

Red hair was a wicked halo around his head, partially obscured by a huge, tri-pointed black hat that was plumed with a ridiculous burgundy feather. Black tattoos dripped from beneath startling green eyes, and covered one of his thin yet superbly muscular arms. He was wearing the tightest breeches Roxas had ever seen in his life, and Naminé had done justice to the man’s form- it made Roxas uncomfortable, how attractive he found the man in her drawing to be. He was heavily armed, with at least three swords on his person that Roxas could see, but was drawn staring over the side of a ship, forearms resting on the railing as he let the invisible breeze blow in his face. The face of a wicked, terrible angel. His eyes were blown wide is shock and awe when his sister turned to look up at him, eyes bright with happiness at the very sight of him.

“Roxas! You’ve returned sooner than I thought you would...I wanted to have these all finished before you came home. They’re a present for you.” She had charcoal and some crimson smudged across one cheek, and her white-blonde hair had dirty black smudges on the ends. She beamed brightly, indicating the papers scattered around her, and Roxas felt his excitement grow.

“Are they going to come with the story of an amazing adventure, perchance?” he teased eagerly. Now THAT would be a present. He was confused, though, at the empty, doll-like look that came over his sister’s face when he asked the question. It was as if she had left her body, the thing in front of him was a blankly staring, lifeless puppet. Only for a second that seemed to last for much longer, and then she blinked and looked just as she always did, and Roxas was left briefly wondering if the heat and exhaustion were causing him to imagine crazy things. Naminé shook her head, though, adding to his confusion.

“I can’t tell you this story, Roxas. It’s not my story to share.” Roxas wondered what was that supposed to mean as he gave his sister a searching look.

“Who’s story is it?” he asked curiously, and Naminé gave him a look that was somehow both sad and happy at once. She reached up, placing a smudged hand upon his cheek, and looked right into his very soul as she answered.

“My sweet brother,” she spoke softly, with a small smile on her lips, “it’s yours.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who follows this and Into The Unknown owe all updates to CatzRko0L putting up with my ridiculous schedule 😂😍

Xion had been searching her entire life for the fabled blade known as the Kingdom Key. She and her older brother had been told and retold all the stories of their father and their lineage since they learned to stand for themselves; they were royalty, living in the slums. Once, their father had been a great king. When Vanitas had been born, their mother always repeated proudly, the kingdom had celebrated for a full month. He possessed a weapon unlike any other, a mystical sword that was said to make its wielder unbeatable in combat, known as the Kingdom Key. There was an uprising. The fiefdoms and towns under their father’s rule felt he was to harsh, too greedy, too cruel; one noble family led insurmountable odds against their father in battle, laid siege upon the castle, and then managed to infiltrate and take the Kingdom Key for themselves. Once they obtained the weapon, all was lost, and they imprisoned the former king while ‘sparing’ his pregnant queen and infant son- turning them out with nothing, leaving them to fend for themselves. Their mother had tried to settle for a long time, but the myths and rumors about their father and his fall extended farther than she had been expecting, and eventually she made it all the way to the sea and onto a boat before she was free of his legacy. She had sailed them across the ocean and settled them in a faraway land, but their mother reminded them every day that they were the rightful heirs to a throne upon which a usurper sat.

Xion and Vanitas had grown up on the streets, becoming tough and resourceful and cunning. Xion was always the bolder of the two, the first to step into trouble, but Vanitas housed a terribly intelligent, patient ruthlessness that he was happy to use as directed by his younger sibling. They were quickly running the streets of their slum, and when they had aged enough to truly understand their history, they decided to seek out their father’s weapon and regain what was rightfully theirs. The only trouble was, their mother’s path away from the kingdom had been broken, uncharted, simply made in an effort to find a safe place for herself and her child; she had no way to tell them where to find their former home, other than that it was across the ocean. Unwilling to give in, Xion and Vanitas had stolen a ship, enlisted anyone that they could, and set off in search of information. That quickly turned into pirating as funds and food ran low, and they began to follow a pattern; they would arrive at a town, try to find anyone who knew of the mythical sword or the location of their kingdom, and when they were greeted by nothing, Xion would throw a fit and unleash Vanitas on the unsuspecting town and its inhabitants. Once they were done, they would pack the ship with anything they could need or could possibly help them to find what they were looking for and the set sail for the next town, leaving a wake of destruction and a growing reputation behind. Captain Xion and her first mate Vanitas. After one particularly viscous takedown of a rival pirate’s ship, however, before she had the prisoners executed they had begged and called her ‘the princess of the sea’. It had struck a cord within Xion; it was just so perfectly fitting, it became her signature. Pirate captain Xion, Princess of the Sea, became a name to be whispered in the dark behind closed doors, and yet, they were no closer to their goal. That is, until they’d found the traveling scholar in the last town. 

He knew of the Key, and knew where it supposedly resided. Xion had been so happy, she had spared him, deciding to keep the slate-haired scholar around until she saw if his information was accurate. Then she and her crew had reboarded their ship and immediately set course for their new destination. Vanitas had pleaded openly in front of her prisoner to be allowed to pull him apart like an insect in order to ascertain his truthfulness, but she rejected his offer-at least until they reached their goal.

Xion wasn’t known for her leniency, but she was renown for her unpredictability, and none dared to question her orders. Even Vanitas knew better than to do it in front of anyone else. She’d given her sibling several scars while reinforcing that point. She would show no weakness, would get the Kingdom Key, and together she and her brother would take back their throne. She would be queen of both land and sea, and NOTHING would stand in her way.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CatzRko0L Is the best 🥰 ty for reading

Axel was leaning against the railing of his ship, thinking and enjoying the cool sea breeze caressing his face. The last town was fun, for sure, but Axel wanted MORE. He loved the fear and tales of his conquests that preceded his crew wherever they went, but only owning the costal towns and the ocean wasn’t enough; he wanted people the world over to fear and respect him. He had the ambition, he had the cold-hearted strength, he had his crew...but he didn’t know how to go about it without laying siege to some place and taking it over, and honestly that sounded like too much work and not enough fun for him. So he had remained for the past several years as he plundered his way across the costs and seas, and how it looked like he would remain for the rest of his days. He was content, but still he wanted more.

“Captain!” The call of one of his men, a blonde named Demyx who practically lived in the crows nest with his mandolin, shook him out of his musings. “There’s something you’re gonna wanna see over here, port side.” Axel leapt into action, turning and darting to the other side of his ship and producing a spyglass from one of his many pockets so he could try to spot what his lookout had. There it was; vaguely in the distance he could air out a mast and a crisp white sail. Perfect. Nothing better to take his mind off things than looting a ship and burning it down to Davy Jones.

“Oi, Xigbar!” he shouted to his helmsman, who gave him a lazy salute in acknowledgement. “Turn us to port and let’s go make some friends!” Laughter and jeers erupted from his crew as they went about readying themselves for a skirmish, gathering and honing weapons, putting on their most ferocious gear, checking the ship’s cannons and the small catapults that were used for his highly flammable concoction they called Dragon Blood. He had found a mage a long time ago who was willing to take on the position of ship alchemist so long as he was offered protection and a share of the loot; Axel would have agreed to more if Vexen had pressed, so enchanted was he by the idea of being able to set fire to ANYTHING. His ship was quick, just another reason he prided himself over it, and they had turned around on no time and were off cutting through the water like a vicious shark. He stood with a booted foot on the bowspirit holding onto the main topsail riggings for balance as they sliced through the water, and watched the approaching ship. They were close enough to see with the naked eye and were rapidly growing closer...suddenly, Axel could see their pirate’s pennant, a white skull devouring a bleeding heart over a black background, and below that, a white flag for parley. He sighed heavily; no fun at all. “Ugh, cut it, lads,” he groaned loudly, throwing up his arms. “We’ve got a parley on our hands.” The crew let out a chorus of grumbled dissent, but everyone obeyed without hesitation. He had no patience for those who didn’t follow his orders like their life depended on it, because it did.

The ships approached one another, drifting until they were side by side but facing opposite ways. Axel stood on the quarter deck, proudly spreading his arms in greeting before dipping his head in a mockery of a bow to the tiny figure who was halfway up the shrouds and appeared to be captaining the other pirates. He was mildly surprised to hear a girl call out to him, but his respect grudgingly grew- any women in their capacity fought twice as hard as their male counterparts to get to where they were. Larxene was a good example; the bitch was cunning, absolutely insane, and was one of the few he always picked to be at his back.

“Greetings! You simply MUST be Axel the Firebrand; I’ve heard of that hair all the way on the other side of the seas!” she sang out brightly, and Axel laughed boastfully. Did a heart good to know he was so widely known.

“Aye, that’s me,” he called, matching her cheerful banter, “but I don’t think I’ve had the fortune to hear tell of you, princess.” Laughter rang from the deck of her ship, and Axel felt his hackles rise instinctively at the sound. A dark figure, with raven hair and dressed head to toe in black despite the sweltering sun, was standing beneath her, and the sinister sound of his humor was worse than dead tree branches screeching against a window to the redhead’s ears. He stepped forward towards the railing, indicating the tiny woman with a sweeping half-bow.

“She IS a princess, you dog. Watch your tongue. This is Captain Xion, Princess of the Sea. Soon, we will retake our throne; then she’ll be Princess on water and on land.” Axel scoffed, but inside...well, ruler of land and sea sounded much more fitting a title for himself. The girl’s voice cut into his racing thoughts.

“We’re sailing to lay war to a distant kingdom, where we will obtain a weapon no man can defeat and take back our father’s throne. Come, brothers, won’t you join us?” Axel laughed harshly, beginning to pace down the expanse of raised deck. 

“Sorry, sweetheart, but war ain’t our thing. I don’t fancy myself jailed or worse by some king with a fancy sword, all so that YOU can take the credit. It was lovely to meet you, though,” he finished dismissively as he hopped down to the main deck, bypassing the stairs. The girl shrugged, then leapt gracefully down to her own deck.

“Then safe travels, Axel the Firebrand. Mayhap we’ll meet again,” she called, pointing at him easily with a scimitar that was massive in comparison to her petite frame, “although for your sake, I hope we don’t. We don’t usually fly under white.” She giggled and her dark first mate joined in, soprano and bass, before she shouted out to her men. “Heave-ho, lads. Double time, I want to be at port yesterday!” Their ship took off, almost as fast as Axel’s own, and the redhead let his stall in position until her flag had disappeared from sight, deep in thought. He wanted no part in a battle. He preferred when he had the upper hand by a significant margin. Still, the idea of that much power and money and renoun, being King of the Land and Sea...it was a siren song, embedded deep within his brain. A weapon that could not be defeated? He could do whatever he pleased, have anything he desired. Everyone would know his name. Captain Axel the Firebrand, King of Everything. He could get used to that.

“Sir?” He stood there so long, lost in his scheming, that his first mate Saïx had approached him cautiously with a frown that slightly misplaced his scars. Axel whirled on him sharply, enjoying the flinch that his unpredictability earned from the blue-haired man, and started pacing away, barking orders as he went.

“Xigbar! Turn her around, quick-like. Larxene, Demyx, let’s stow the flag and all the top gallant sails, we’re gonna try to sit low and inconspicuous. Move it, we’re losing time. Saïx,” he looked over his shoulder at the man who had followed at his heels like a loyal hound. “Ask Vexen if he can come up with a few things to help me get through the sort of defenses or locks a castle would have- but something that might initially go unnoticed.” Saïx folded his arms behind his back and nodded, but spoke up anyway.

“Subtle burglary? When have you ever done that?” Axel winked broadly at him, casting an arm around his shoulders.

“I think, while the little princess has the people of the castle otherwise engaged, I’ll just pop in and see about that weapon that can’t be beat. Bet I’d have way more fun as King of Everything than she would.” He laughed, and Saïx joined in before he slipped away to do as his captain had ordered. Axel was excited; now this would be an exciting venture. Minimal risk and big gains were MUCH more his style.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give it up for the amazing CatzRko0L for reading this for me ❤️

Roxas was nearly bouncing with excitement. It had been two full days since the hunt, and yesterday the most lavish, extravagant party had been thrown in honor of himself and his siblings. It had been just as awful as the small blonde had expected; hundreds of people, all crammed together and fawning all over the three of them. As soon as the main feast had ended and he was no longer REQUIRED to be present, Roxas had escaped the crowds and gone straight back to the mages’ quarters to pour over more of his books for study. He was desperate for Yen Sid to allow him to see the artifact, and lucky for him, Yen Sid had also left the festivities and had found Roxas hard at work.

“My boy,” he’d said sternly as he swept into the mage’s study. “I can think of no better time for you to learn about what you seek. Tomorrow, after the royal family breaks their fast, come to me in the Hall of History. I will make your parents aware.”

Now it was the morning of and Roxas could not be contained. He’d been up for hours, eager to be allowed into the forbidden hall to learn of his family’s history and rise to power. He’d dressed for the day, looked over his notes for the umpteenth time, and he was pacing around and around his room as he waited for the servant to come and fetch him to the table. Bored, anxious, he started looking out his window to physically watch the sun climbing higher and higher into the sky. It was first light now, almost time, but something caught Roxas’s attention. He saw a large party of people approaching, coming from the lush green fields surrounding the castle rather than the main road. That was...unusual. He looked closer at the visitors, watching while they nearly crept through the grass, until he began to be able to make out individuals and his blood turned to ice in his veins.

Pirates. Pirates were sneaking ever closer in the low dawn light, coming for his home. Roxas panicked, throwing himself away from the window and dashing to find a guard and to rouse everyone.

“We’re being attacked!” he shrieked, pounding on Ven’s door for a second before doing the same to Naminé’s and then continuing his mad sprint down the hall. “Get up! Guards! Where are the cursed guards, WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” 

In his wake, the corridor bloomed to life as people flooded it in various states of undress, and he quickly heard Ven begin barking orders. On Roxas ran, pushing his legs faster as he reached his parent’s wing and the guard barracks. He hammered on both doors, repeating his message, and turned back towards the castle main, where he began to run into people. Ven had been organizing things well; there were clear directions for people to go- maids and staff would go to the lower galleries with the royal family, guards and mages were heading towards the wall, where loud shouting and curses had begun. At the sight of the mages, Roxas staggered to a halt.

The Kingdom Key. His parents would need it to fight off the intruders, wouldn’t they? Maybe he could go get it and bring it to them; any time saved right now would surely be crucial. He turned and began his frantic run again, this time sprinting off towards the Hall of History. He pushed open the massive wooden doors with some effort, but was thankful the guard usually posted there had left to help out, and then he was inside. The Hall of History was long, containing heirlooms, priceless antiques, and artifacts from their family’s past, all on pedestals with cards to indicate what significance each piece had. Roxas hurried past these and towards the end of the hall, where another set of doors barred access to a final room; the resting place of the Kingdom Key. He pushed his way into the chamber beyond.

On a pedestal in the center of the partially darkened room, with the light from the single window falling directly upon it, was a sword unlike anything he had ever seen. It had a very narrow, almost circular blade, but at the tip a shape like a crown or the teeth of a key stuck out from the edge and the guard formed a flattened, almost square cage around the grip. Instead of a pommel, there was a short length of chain that ended in three circles joined together to make an unusually shaped disk. It was beautiful, shining silver and gold, and for a moment Roxas completely forgot the very real peril they were facing as he approached it slowly, hand extended. When his trembling fingers traced almost imperceptibly along the blade, it felt like it warmed under his touch. When his hand closed around the grip and he lifted the weapon from it’s decorative stand, it felt like a part of himself, an extension of his body that was always meant to be there. He had no words in that brief, eternal moment- but it ended a heartbeat later as the light from the window was suddenly blocked off. A large hole had appeared in midair, purple and black mists of some sort swirling out from the base of a corridor suspended in space that was larger than a fully-grown man, which closed as soon as it had served his purpose. For out of the hole had stepped a large figure he had never met before, but was horrifyingly familiar to him.

The pirate captain from Naminé’s sketch was so accurate to her depiction that he seemed to have just stepped off the page. That ostentatious waistcoat, angular face, tattoos, wild red hair- his sister had captured every gorgeous detail impeccably. His green eyes were full of surprise; clearly, he had not been expecting to run into company. Roxas shook himself out of his stupor and stepped back, falling into form naturally as he brandished the sword. He would never again complain about being forced to do training exercises with Ven so long as he lived.

“Is that it?” the pirate asked softly, eyes locking onto the weapon he held. He took a step forward, holding his hand out imperiously in a silent demand. “Gonna need you to hand that to me, pipsqueak.”

“Stay back,” Roxas said shakily, with much less ferocity than he’d meant to. The redhead laughed, hands falling to his hips as he looked over the small blonde in front of him. Almond eyes softened fractionally, and a smirk grew on his lips.

“Ey, you’ve got some steel in your backbone, haven’t you? Sorry, lad, but now’s not the time to test it. I’m in a bit of a hurry.” As if to accentuate the pirate’s words, the faint sound of running footsteps became audible, drawing closer to their position. Roxas grinned ferociously, knowing he would soon have reinforcements.

“You can have this when you pry it from my hands,” he said challengingly, widening his stance. He could hold his own, even if the pirate was far more heavily armed, at least until those footsteps reached them. The pirate sighed dramatically, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Time is of the essence, here, boyo. You’re not giving me many options,” the man groaned, and Roxas was confused. Were all pirates this...strange? Roxas would have expected the man to attack, as vicious and bloodthirsty as he looked, but he seemed hesitant to draw his weapons against the blonde. The footsteps were just beyond the door now, and he heard Ven’s voice call his name. “Well, then,” the redhead cracked an eye open, giving a wild grin before tossing something onto the floor that exploded into black and purple powder before solidifying into another corridor like the one he’d arrived through. Then, quick as a striking snake, he lunged forward. He took advantage of Roxas’s split-second of confusion to grab the smaller man around the waist, hoisting the blonde over his shoulder and making his escape through the dark hole before it closed up again. “I guess you’re coming with me.”


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CatzRko0L is the best reader out there 😍

Xion was furious. Someone in the castle must have seen their approach; they’d lost the element of surprise. When they’d reached the castle walls, they’d been met with guards at the ready- not that they let that stop them. Along the way, she had met three other crews of pirates; one had declined to join up with her cause, but the promise of riches and power had won over the other two, and she knew she had larger numbers than what the castle would contain. She had brought three men who were good with a bow, and they managed to pick off two of the guards above before the rest of them sought cover. She sent several more of her crew off to a nearby grove of trees to fell the largest one they could find and strip it of its branches so they could use it to batter the front gates, and another group of men were sent to scout the area and to search for weaknesses in the castle’s fortifications. Three hours later, she was ready to address those who had taken what should have been hers.

“Ahoy the castle!” she shouted, sauntering out into the main road in front of the castle’s heavy wooden gate with Vanitas and two other men at her back. “I wish to parley with those who consider themselves royalty here.” A sharp bark of laughter rang from someone hidden above, and a man who couldn’t have been much older than her stuck a head of blonde, spiky hair into view.

“Who are you to come to our castle bringing such large numbers in violence?” he demanded imperiously, and she recognized that he was probably a lesser member of the royal family. He glared down his nose at her, and the sunlight in the sky behind him created a halo of light that made him appear as some sort of vengeful angel. She grinned wickedly, drawing her sword and stabbing it point-first into the earth at her side so she could lean on it; she was going to enjoy bringing this angel to heel.

“You have something that belongs to me. Actually, you have quite a lot that belongs to me, but first is first. Bring to me the Kingdom Key, and the bargaining from there will go much better for you. If you make me come in and get it, I’m going to be right unhappy.” The man above arched an eyebrow in confusion and opened his mouth to speak, but a much taller, older male stepped up behind the blonde, placing a hand on his shoulder and silencing the boy.

“My lady,” the older man called down, in a much deeper, richer voice; this was surely the king. She couldn’t quite believe he would make himself so vulnerable, speaking to her from the barbican, but if he continued the habit after their parley, it wouldn’t be for very long. “I believe there must be some sort of mistake. These lands have been held by my family since before you were born, I’d imagine. We have nothing of yours here.” Xion spat in the dirt with a scowl.

“These lands, this castle, and the throne you occupy are the birthright of my brother and I. They were unjustly taken from our father, and we have come to claim what is ours.” She saw the man wince at her words, and a tall, willowy woman with short blue hair stepped up beside him, touching his arm. The queen? Were they fools, or fearless? No matter. 

“Please, we wish for no one else to come to harm,” she called down, her voice bell-like. “What do you have to negotiate a peace accord with?” The king and the youth both shot her a look, the king’s was curious while the youth looked angry, and that puzzled Xion for a moment before she composed her usual bravado.

“I have my men, superior numbers, the strength of my right to claim, and I have the freedom to find food and water, if we need. What do you have?” The queen angled her lips upward and said something into the king’s ear too quietly to be overheard from Xion’s position on the ground, and then the king straightened up and addressed her again.

“We do not have the Kingdom Key you seek, but we do have a lesson in history we could provide. This is not your home.” His tone had changed, from polite to nearly mocking, and she vowed to herself that the king would regret it. Still, rules were rules. She threw a quick look to Vanitas, hoping he would understand, before spreading her arms wide in a grand gesture; she gave a mockery of a curtsy to the ‘royals’ above her. 

“Well then, in the effort of fairness, I should let you know that I intend to lay siege, enter the castle, kill or subdue all inside, and reclaim my throne and birthright. I’d prefer not to damage too much of my new home, but if you make me knock on my own door, I plan to knock hard. Parley over.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she drew her sword and ducked low as a knife left Vanitas’s hand flying up to the three standing above. There was no time to avoid the blade as it spun through the air, and yet...the blonde had seen Vanitas as he threw the blade, and in a move almost as quick as her brother, he pushed the king to the side. Rather than taking the knife through his heart, it struck him in the shoulder, and he went down with a loud shout. Before the knife had even hit home, she signaled the men and they fled, dissolving into the tree line like ghosts before slinking back to their camp in a wide arc. Once back, she wasted no time, knowing the people inside would be scurrying like disturbed ants trying to help their king.

“Alright, men. Let’s go say hello. Bring that big stick so we can give the door a good, hard bang.” The men laughed uproariously as they moved to obey her command and in no time at all, they were back at the gates, this time with the battering ram and two score men to apply it. “Knock knock,” Xion murmured under her breath before holding her sword up and then swinging it down in the signal to begin. The men hopped to it, beginning a chant as they lifted the fallen tree and started ramming it against the thick wooden door in massive, thundering blows. The castle’s defenses groaned, creaked, and splintered with every blow, and Xion was pleased. She sat down cross-legged on a large stone to watch gleefully, and felt rather than saw or heard Vanitas approach her from behind. He fell into his usual position like a shadow slightly behind and slightly to the side of her. She sighed contentedly. “It’s finally happening, Vani. Are you excited to step into our new home?” she cooed at him sweetly, like they were still children. Vanitas shrugged with a frown.

“Very, but...I want that blonde in my hands after we do,” he growled, and Xion giggled, knowing he was irritated that his kill and epic, easy victory had been stolen from him.

“It was a wonderful throw,” she hummed, “‘‘twas a shame you didn’t strike him down right there.” She watched her brother grind his teeth together, eyes flashing, before he forced out his reply.

“I’ll make sure he regrets thwarting my blade,” Vanitas promised darkly, and Xion laughed while their men chanted and drove slowly through the castle gate behind them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to CatzRko0L for reading for me ❤️

Emerging through the transportation spell Vexen had created for him and onto his ship’s deck with the youth holding the strange sword still slung over his shoulder, Axel wasted no time in high-tailing it from their temporary port and as far away as possible. He knew what he was about, and right now, that was escaping with his prize before anyone even knew they had been the ones to take it. 

“Cast off, quick as you can, men. I want to be on the other side of the sea before they realize this thing is missing.” The crew flew into action, and Axel was confident enough in his men that he turned his attention on his prize, instead; it was still being held by the blue-eyed blonde draped over his shoulder. He hummed jauntily to himself as he turned away from the hurried activity on deck and towards the captain’s cabin in the aft. The kid was difficult, and it was minorly inconvenient that he’d been forced to take him along with the sword, but didn’t really come across as a fighter. He was probably a servant who’d been cleaning or a student of the mages and had picked up the sword as a matter of duty - he’d probably be grateful to be dumped in the next town they made port at rather than be tossed overboard. The small blonde hadn’t made a sound since they’d stepped onto the ship, and continued his silence until Axel had unceremoniously dropped him to the floor of the cabin after kicking the doors shut behind them. 

“Well, lad, must I still pry it from you, or are you going to hand it over?” Axel drawled, nodding at the sword still held loosely in the blonde’s hands. As if only just realizing he still held the weapon, the blonde wordlessly gripped it tighter and slipped into an easy fighting stance once again. As if the pipsqueak was really a threat. Axel tsked and shook his head, beginning to pace in a swagger that drew closer to the blonde with every pass as he spoke. “You haven’t caused me much trouble yet, aside from having to drag you aboard my ship. And I just successfully avoided both sides of a war while stealing away that beauty.” Axel nodded at the sword and was now close enough to run a fingertip along the strange blade, which he did. The smaller male shivered and took a defensive step back, and Axel bared his teeth in a wide grin. “I’m feeling downright generous. Might even drop you at port rather than let the sharks have such a pretty dinner. But that all depends on you, here, boyo.” The blonde looked confused by his words, but Axel couldn’t imagine why. Hell’s fire, he wasn’t even being that intimidating, although for the life of him he didn’t know why that was. The little blonde looked soft, weak, and as pretty as the most handsome angel; Axel figured he could tear the lad apart with just his words. Why wasn’t he? Before he could force a response from the blonde, it was as if a light had come on behind the smaller man’s eyes. 

“You don’t know me.” The flat statement from the boy wasn’t a question, but it irked the redhead. Why in the name of Davy Jones would he know some castle errand boy? He frowned at the blonde, who nodded as if the pirate had answered him anyway. “What would you intend to do with the Key, if I did hand it over?” A sharp bark of a laugh escaped the redhead as surprise and humor clashed within him. 

“Well, laddie, I plan to make sure there’s not a soul on my side of the sea who doesn’t know the name of Captain Axel the Firebrand. And I plan on getting very, very rich in the process.” Rather than looking fearful, the tiny man before him only nodded again, and the action further frustrated the taller. The next words he spoke, however, surprised him so thoroughly that his rising anger vanished entirely. 

“I won’t yield the sword to you. I don’t know your name, but I’ve seen you. I’ve seen some of your crew. I’m...” the blonde hesitated, but Axel was too busy trying to mentally process the blonde’s easy, bold refusal to fully comprehend the lapse. “I study in the castle, and I am thoroughly intrigued by you, despite how fearsome you and your companions undoubtedly are. Might I propose that you and I come to some sort of agreement for the time being, Captain?” The redhead was left staring, slack-jawed, at the slight figure before him. The boy had fear in his eyes, and yet here he was speaking as if he were the one in power here, as if he wanted to sit down and have a talk over a pint. He had seen them sometime before? Was the lad a surviving victim from one of their raids? The Captain felt his mind sluggishly trying to form an answer, or to remove the foolish expression he must be wearing, and that shook him from his stupor. He straightened up to his full, imposing height and stared down his nose at the blonde with an angrily sweet smile. 

“What makes you think I’m not going to throw you off the side of this ship for that mouth?” he asked in a pleasant tone, expecting the blonde to back down at that, but the smaller man’s lips quirked upwards. 

“Because you haven’t yet. Well, and according to the history of this blade, I’m not sure that you could take this from me,” the blonde added as an afterthought, swinging the sword in a circle casually as he spoke. Axel’s eyes glinted; there was a line, and the little fool had just crossed it. He slid into stance across from the blonde. 

“Oh, boyo. Never tell a pirate that they can’t have something.” Quick as a striking snake, the redhead drew one of the blades slung across his back, and as if drawn together by a force greater than either man, the swords locked together. “We can talk while we dance, providing you don’t lose your step.” And the deadly dance began. Axel had the advantage of size, of years of combat experience, of surprise, and yet somehow, infuriatingly, the blonde was keeping up. When Axel delivered a blow that should have knocked him to the ground from force alone, the key-like blade rang like a bell and the little blonde was somehow able to square up his feet under the assault. The blonde looked at the weapon in his hands in wonder before swinging it around in his hand again and resuming his at-ready stance. 

“They say that whoever wields this blade cannot lose to an opponent in combat. I never even dreamed that I would be able to witness something like this. It’s wonderous, isn’t it?” the blonde asked casually, as if they were bearing witness to some interesting sight rather than licked in combat. Axel let out an involuntary chuckle even as he changed his angle and struck out at the boy again, which he blocked with ease. The shorter man was interesting, if nothing else. And either recklessly brave or simple, which Axel didn’t believe to be the case simply based upon his educated speech. “So here’s my idea,” the blonde continued, “I wish to return to my- the castle. With the sword. I imagine that’s not a thought you’re willing to entertain.” Again, it was a statement rather than a question, before he drove forward with a sudden motion that almost caught the redhead off guard before Axel managed to get his sword up for a hasty block of his own that locked their weapons together. 

“Nope,” the taller man huffed, shoving the blonde back and away to free his sword. He took advantage of the gap to draw another blade, this one thinner and faster to move than the first. “That’s not happening, mate.” He swept the bigger sword towards the blonde’s shoulders as he struck low with the thinner one, yet he was still as ineffective as if he were swiping at sea foam. The smaller man used his petite frame, ducking under the higher swing as he brought his sword to the side and up, catching the thinner blade in the teeth of the key and using Axel’s own momentum to throw the redhead’s swords together with a clang that jarred both of his arms to numbness. The pirate stepped back, circling his wrists and struggling to keep his grip on the swords, while the blonde used the pause to continue. 

“You know my wish, and yet I cannot swim, I cannot sail. I have no money, nothing with which to barter except the Key, which I’ve already said I will not give up. Even if I were to use this spectacular weapon to cut down you and your entire crew,” he paused in speech as he lunged forward unexpectedly, catching Axel by surprise with a wide swing which the pirate just managed to block in time. The blow of their blades clashing together shook the larger sword from his still-weak hand, and he drew one of his knives as the smaller man danced back and continued to talk. “I’d be stuck, dead in the water. And I’m not really excited to test just how powerful this sword is against an entire pirate crew. I’d also rather you not kill me.” He dodged the knife Axel had just thrown at his shoulder with an impish grin that finally made the redhead straighten up and laugh with the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation. He laughed until he had to catch his breath while the blonde also straightened up more cautiously, but with that smile intact. The Captain drove the tip of his sword into the deck at his side and leaned heavily on it, giving the blonde a curious stare. What on earth could be going inside of the crazy pipsqueak’s head. After a long moment, he gestured towards a chair and the blonde sank into it, sword held across his lap, while Axel himself took the grand chair behind his desk and propped his feet up. 

“What’s your name, lad?” he finally asked, crossing his hands behind his head and leaning back. The blonde hesitated for only a moment before his reply. 

“It’s Roxas.” A name as unusual as the blonde was, how fitting. He hummed his approval as he considered what to do from here. He obviously couldn’t have his crew think that this boy was naming terms, but on the other hand, the blonde had been quiet and still and appropriately fearful when he’d been in front of the others. That gave Axel a little more room to be...unpredictable. 

“Well, Roxas? What is it you think we’re going to do from here?” he asked, genuinely curious, and Roxas ran a hand through slightly sweaty blonde spikes. 

“Keep me aboard. Let me satiate my curiosity as I try to convince you to take me back. Leave the sword in my care. I’ll make myself useful, follow orders, what have you. Let me prove myself to you. Maybe we can come to terms.” The blonde had leaned forward as he spoke in his eagerness, eyes locked with the pirate’s as he clearly tried to will the larger man to go along. The cogs in the redhead’s mind began to turn. 

“Cabin boy?” he mused aloud, considering. “You do know that there’s no chance in the world that I’ll turn this ship around, though, right? That place is a war zone. I actually probably saved your life, Roxas. You should thank me.” Axel puffed out his chest with a smirk, watching as worry flashed across the blonde’s face before he replaced it with a biting smile. 

“I’ll thank you after you make your decision to keep me, Captain,” he answered snarkily, and Axel found himself laughing again. 

“I think I might actually like you, how odd,” the redhead chuckled, making Roxas beam widely. Axel shook his head. “You’re already far more trouble than you’re worth. I’m not sure I believe you’re willing to bow to me, either. I’ll toss you overboard the first time that mouth comes out in front of my crew,” he threatened, and the blonde nodded quickly. 

“Understood,” Roxas affirmed, and Axel squinted at him hard. 

“My crew won’t follow you if you kill me in my sleep, either. They’ll gut you and feed you to the fishes before you can even try your ridiculous antics, and then they’ll follow Saïx.” Roxas laughed. 

“Why Captain, you aren’t afraid of me, are you?” the blonde teased, and the redhead sat up with a smile that anyone else aboard the ship would have known to run from. He stood slowly, stretching and moving languidly as he strolled around the desk in a semi circle that took him behind the smaller man’s chair as he spoke. 

“You do have quite some skill when it comes to a sword, although I can’t help but wonder how much of your skill came from that weapon in particular.” He’d made it behind the blonde, still relaxed, and it was right at the point that the blonde had to turn his head to continue to follow Axel with his eyes that the pirate struck. In a quick motion, he wrapped a hand around Roxas’s throat right below the jaw and pulled back hard, throwing both Roxas and the chair backwards and crashing to the floor. Axel kept his hand in place the entirety of the time it took to slam the blonde to the ground and on his knees he pressed the smaller man down onto the floor, choking him. The sword had flown from his lap to clatter you the floor above the blonde’s head, and Axel kept an eye on it to be sure the blonde wouldn’t be able to reach it from his pinned position. Roxas’s hands scrabbled against the pirate’s fingers as he fought for air, and Axel leaned down to murmur sweetly in his face. “I’m not scared of you, little brat. Never forget that I’m Captain Axel the Firebrand, and the reason most don’t know my name is because I’m not known for leaving many behind to tell the tale.” He released the blonde as quickly as he’d attacked, letting him choke and gasp for breath as he scooped up the dropped blade. At last, his prize. The grip was strangely warm under his hand, although that was probably from its place in Roxas’s hand a moment ago. He felt an energy in the blade he couldn’t describe, and swung it experimentally as the blonde recovered and sprang to his feet and glared. Axel stopped him before he could make a decision he couldn’t go back from. 

“Are you still willing to stay on if I agree to everything except that you keep the sword?” he asked imperiously, pointing the Key at the shorter man, and Roxas froze. He knew he’d been bested, however unfairly, and that his choices were now to agree or to die. He grimaced a sort of smile and spoke through gritted teeth. 

“I have nothing better to do, I suppose.” Roxas’s words were bored even if his tone was snarling, but Axel had to give him some credit. The redhead knew he would have had a much harder time trying to keep himself in check. It was yet another thing that earned the blonde his approval. 

“Then welcome aboard, cabin boy. Get squared away with the room for a while, you’ll be in here a fair bit. I’m gonna go show this fun little trinket to Saïx.” With that, Axel swaggered out of the cabin, admiring how the silver and gold glinted against the sun and sea. He was still pretty certain that he would end up throwing the blonde over the rails, but at least things would be entertaining until that point.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CatzRko0L reads so you don’t trip over my typos ❤️

Roxas was memorizing the room. There was nothing else for him to do, and it seemed to be helping to calm the rage burning in his chest. The damned pirate had taken the Kingdom Key, he was stuck aboard the ship with no hope of returning home, and he’d just agreed to be a cabin boy to save his own skin. He didn’t even know what in the name of hell he was supposed to do as a cabin boy. He was a prince. He’d kept that information concealed, not wanting to earn a quick death or be used to barter with his family, but that only put him further at a disadvantage because he didn’t know how he would explain away his inexperience with even basic tasks. Which led him to where he was now, sitting in the captain’s massive desk chair and soaking in the details of his surroundings. 

The room was large, but clearly served several purposes. Centermost upon entering the room was the huge, ornate desk that looked like it would have been more at home in an admiral’s study, and the massive chair that Roxas suspected may have at one time been a throne, complete with red velvet padding over the dark wood. There was a bed mounted in one corner, above which trinkets, gem stones, and various other treasure were either hung or piled on a small shelf. There was a hammock suspended on the other side of the room from the plush mattress, probably at one point a napping spot but where Roxas imagined he would be sleeping for the foreseeable future. There were large maps of unfamiliar coastlines tacked to the walls, and more scattered across the desk. There was a small table that belonged to the two smaller chairs in seemingly random places in the room, which had a bowl of fruits and nuts resting on it. A chest near the foot of the bed presumably housed clothes and other personal affects, and built-in row of cabinets held bottles of liquor and a collection of weaponry that could have rivaled an armory. Looking at the knives, swords, axes, and other implements of warfare, Roxas had considered taking one to conceal and use to reclaim his family’s sword, but had ultimately left everything in place; even if he did possess the sword, he would still be completely unable to return himself to his kingdom. There was no hope unless he either escaped with the sword at port and found someone willing to take him across the ocean out of the goodness of their heart, or somehow convinced the pirate captain to return him. That was assuming his family had managed to fend off their attackers without the aid of the Kingdom Key. He idly wondered if Naminé was more scared of the pirates or excited to see her drawings come to life, but the thought was quickly broken as the cabin doors banged back upon their hinges and Axel strolled back into the room, key-like blade resting over a shoulder. He was followed closely by the blue-haired man with the scars whom Roxas surmised was the man the captain had referred to as ‘Saïx’. The pair of them stopped in front of Roxas, Axel wearing a broad grin while Saïx counterbalanced it with an angry scowl. 

“See? Pretty as a painting, soft, small...you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Axel cooed at the blue haired man, and Roxas felt himself flush red with embarrassment and anger, fists curling into tight balls at his sides. The look Saix gave him could have cut through steel, a sneer that spoke of immeasurable distaste, before he turned back to his Captain. 

“Are you so eager to hand the ship over to me, sir? The boy is a fool, he’s going to knife you in your sleep without even understanding the consequences,” the man hissed, as if Roxas weren’t sitting a matter of steps away. The blonde bristled, immediately deciding that this Saïx was his first enemy among the crew. Axel ignored the man’s tense accusations and drifted to stand next to the chair Roxas occupied, leaning against the side with a hand draped over the wings to pet through unruly blonde hair. 

“Saïx, you worry too much. I think he’s going to make a wonderful little pet,” Axel hummed, and it took every ounce of willpower Roxas possessed not to hit his hand away. Instead, he ducked his head out from under the captain’s hand and stood, folding his hands behind the small of his back like he’d seen servants in the castle do while awaiting orders. The blue haired man’s eyes narrowed, but Axel hummed in approval. “See?” he repeated, and then fell into the newly vacated chair with his long legs draped over an armrest. “If you REALLY want to shirk your duties to train him, give him to Demyx. We all know he doesn’t do anything useful until we’re close to land, and we’re a long way off from that.” Saix snorted disdainfully with a quick nod before giving the Captain one more focused look. 

“As always, I will do as you’ve asked, but I do feel the need to say once more that I believe you will regret not tossing him to the sea.” He turned without a word to the blonde and strode out of the doors, leaving Roxas and the redhead alone. As soon as the doors had clicked into place, the blonde whirled on the Captain. 

“I’m not a pet,” he spat with a glare at the taller man, who chuckled and set the sword on his desk in front of him. Roxas couldn’t help but follow it with his gaze, but forced his eyes back to luminous green ones. Axel seemed pleased, smug, and it irked the blonde to no end. 

“You don’t like it when I stroke your hair?” the pirate asked teasingly, and Roxas curled his lip into a snarl. It only served to make Axel’s grin grow. “Go find Demyx and report to him,” the redhead commanded with a dismissive wave of his hand, eyes bright with mischief. Roxas lifted an eyebrow. 

“Who’s Demyx?” he asked, and that was when Axel began to chuckle. 

“You’re gonna have to find someone else to ask, pipsqueak. I’ve got a coastline to plan the destruction of,” Axel taunted, before righting himself in his seat and suddenly becoming intensely focused on the maps spread out on the surface of his desk. Roxas let out an indignant huff, but turned to go do as he was told. Before he made it out the doors, however, Axel called out to him once more. “Oh, and Roxas? Watch your back, I don’t think my first mate likes you very much.” 

Roxas slammed the cabin doors on the redhead’s laughter more forcefully than was necessary, and then found himself looking out over the deck of the ship, where numerous people were milling about, doing tasks that were unfathomable to the blonde or else appearing to be doing nothing at all. The ship was cutting through the waves with what seemed to be great speed, and the salty air was cool against the blonde’s face. He sighed, picking a crew member at random and approaching them cautiously. The pirate he had chosen was of medium height and build, with fair hair and a multitude of piercings in his ears. The man was lounging against a barrel, shuffling a deck of cards absently in his hands as he stared out over the water. Roxas stopped a few feet away from the man’s side and cleared his throat to gain his attention, but despite seeing the pirate’s lips twitch into a smirk, the man pretended not to have noticed his approach. Roxas ground his teeth, bit down on his pride, and tried again. 

“Excuse me,” he huffed in his irritation, and the pirate turned his head fractionally to acknowledge the shorter man. “Would you be able to direct me towards someone named ‘Demyx’?” The man chuckled lowly, finally turning fully towards Roxas with a look of amusement. 

“Did the Captain set you up to do this?” the man asked with a smirk, and Roxas’s guts knotted in discomfort and apprehension. 

“Uh, yes?” Roxas answered cautiously, and the pirate laughed. Then, the man stowed the cards in his coat and withdrew a set of dice instead. 

“Roll me for it,” the man said simply, rattling the small cubes in his hand. Roxas eyed them warily; he’d never gambled in his life, and had always been told it was vulgar and beneath him. However, he nodded, and the pierced blonde smiled more warmly before he threw the dice down. Four dots on one, five dots on the other. The man looked pleased, then nudged the dice towards Roxas, who picked them up and stared at them as if they held some sort of answer rather than meaningless dots. The larger man’s expectant look forced his hand, though, and Roxas let the dice slip from his fingers to bounce across the wooden surface. Five dots on one, and then the second one settled with six dots showing. Roxas looked up at the man curiously, thinking he had won but unsure as to the rules of the game, to find that he was receiving a hard stare. A half-smile froze into his face before it could fully form; had he angered the man by rolling higher numbers? But the look on the pirate’s face quickly returned to amusement as he collected the dice and put them away. 

“Are you going to tell me?” Roxas inquired, genuinely confused over the whole thing, and the man simply pointed straight into the air above his head. 

“Take your beginners luck with you,” the pirate jeered with a friendly smile, and Roxas was left staring stupidly for a second before the man rolled his eyes. “He’s up in the nest, boy. I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” the man said with a wickedly smooth chuckle before he strode away across the deck. Roxas looked up, head tilting back with the angle, until he focused on the crow’s nest high above along the centermost mast of the ship and swallowed hard. The motion of the deck beneath his feet was already starting to unsettle his stomach; he couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be so high above the stable, flat surface. He also knew from his childhood that his heart began to race no further off the ground than low-hanging tree branches, and that the one time he’d peeked over the castle’s battlements he’d been shamefully ill. He didn’t know how to get up to the top anyway. It was a fool’s errand; he now understood the gambler’s initial question. He thought back on the redhead’s command, the look in those gemstone eyes that spoke of...a game. This was some sort of game he was playing. 

Roxas could not stand to lose at games. 

He swallowed his queasiness and focused his mind on beating his opponent. When it became a matter of winning or losing, there was something inside of Roxas that demanded that he compete to win. Naminé had begun to refuse to play any sort of competitive game with him before she had even been able to speak in complete sentences. None of the servants or maids would, either, and Ventus only ever indulged him when he was already in a temper because he knew it would draw Roxas to blows first if he taunted him enough. Then their mother would side with Ven and Roxas would be punished rather than he. 

Roxas looked at the mast differently; rather than looking at the intimidating height, he scoured the surface for whatever was intended to be used to scale it. There; on the other side of the mast from where he stood, he could see the edges of a rope ladder tethered to the floor. He circled the mast, gripped the ropes tight...and began to climb. Looking forward, things weren’t so bad, so that was what Roxas did. He watched the grains in the wood of the mast undulate before him as he climbed and climbed and climbed. There were a few small platforms that he passed that anchored the ropes as they rose so it remained relatively taut and close to the structure itself; he was eternally grateful for those as they allowed him to climb without worry that the ship would sway and the ladder would bow away from the mast. The wood became more weathered in appearance, somehow drier than the rest of the ship, and then the ropes met with a covered square cut into a larger platform above. He clutched onto the ropes for dear life with his stronger arm, and then reached up to knock against the opening’s cover, which promptly slid away. A fairly young looking blonde with the most unusual hairstyle Roxas had ever seen, only partially held back with a battered once-blue swath of fabric, appeared briefly in the space looking slightly alarmed before he drew back to allow Roxas the space to ascend to the platform. 

There was nothing but sky, as if he’d risen to sit on a cloud. Sky and a very curious-looking pirate clutching some sort of stringed instrument and looking at him expectantly. For a second, Roxas thought everything would be fine as long as he remained sitting, but then the ship swayed and Roxas felt the ground beneath him tilt dramatically. What had been mild rocking on the deck was several feet of heart-stopping movement in the air above; Roxas had been too focused on the mast to notice as he had risen, but now that he was seated it was unlike anything he had words for. Not-quite seasickness before was now a clenching fist inside Roxas as his head swam and his vision blurred. 

“Are you Demyx?” he asked hoarsely, watching curiosity turn to concern as the shaggy blonde nodded his head. 

“Yeah, mate, but...you good?” Demyx asked, voice clear and surprisingly warm. Then the ship rocked again and that was it. 

“I win,” Roxas muttered before turning his body towards the low wall surrounding them and vomiting wretchedly over the side.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor CatzRko0L has been getting put to WORK the last few days 😂😂❤️🙏

It was time. The wood of the gates had been reduced to splinters, and there were pieces missing that allowed partial flashes of the other side to be visible between the relentless hammering of the ram. She had worked her men in shifts so that they wouldn’t be completely worn out and though it had taken a bit longer, it meant that every person she had enlisted would be ready and able to fight. Xion smiled widely, watching for just the right moment. 

It came only moments later; with a shuddering, splintering groan, a large segment of one of the doors fell away, large enough for two grown men to fit through shoulder to shoulder. With a wild whoop, Xion leapt from her perch and began to run, hearing Vanitas following like a shadow. 

“With me!” she shouted as she ran, and saw the ram falling to the ground as she passed it. At the opening, men who had been closer when she had made the call to charge were already through and on the other side, and she began to hear shouts from within. Then she was through, then Vanitas, and they were within their castle. It was a heady thing, to finally be there. The courtyard was devoid of any signs of life, but she saw activity on the inner bailey. She swerved, veering off course and towards the inner wall at an angle just as the first volley of arrows was unleashed. A few men went down loudly, but the majority reached the inner bailey unscathed. Their group split into the three parties she had already laid out when she was briefing her men on the coming battle. One group went to the entrance to the grand hall to set it on fire and use gunpowder bombs to blast and but their way in there. Another group used hooks and spikes to begin to scale the wall while the last group began releasing cover fire in the form of arrows and stones. The men overhead clearly hadn’t been prepared for such organization from the pirates; worse luck for them. Xion smiled as she hugged the wall and prowled between the parties, eager to see where they would breech first. 

It was the grand hall’s great doors that ended up being weaker than the guards overhead. With a final loud bang, one of the doors broke away from its hinges and collapsed, tearing the other weakened door down with it in a shower of sparks. Xion had seen it going down and sprinted so that when it went down, she leapt through the flames and into the grand hall before the sound had even finished ringing through the large space, swinging her sword as she did. The guard she took down had barely enough time to even seen her coming. Then people were flooding in; all the members of the initial party as well as two thirds of those who had been providing cover for the climbers, many of whom were already on the wall doing battle there. As men around her screamed and fought and died, Xion danced and cut her way through the defending guards and towards the doors leading to the keep itself. Vanitas as well as a few more favored members of her crew had kept at her heels, and she beamed like a child with a shiny trinket as Vanitas and her pilot opened the doors and gestured her through like the princess that she was. 

It was beautiful, grand, and everything she had imagined it to be. There were wide hallways and beautiful artworks, high ceilings and huge staircases. Two men stood in front of a passage with a staircase descending behind them, giving away the direction they needed to take. Before she could strike, Vanitas had spun around the door and thrown two more of the small, sharp blades he kept on himself; Xion watched them drop with a giggle. 

“Vani, welcome home,” she sighed happily, walking beside him to the stairs and then taking the lead to descend. The torches that should have lit the way down to the lower galleries had all been snuffed out, but Xion just let her hand trail lightly over the exterior wall to guide her as her eyes adjusted. Below, the hall was expansive, with numerous doors that were all closed and presumably locked or barred. She quickly stopped her men and signaled for silence, and then directed them to spread out and listen at the doors. Vani was the lucky winner; he quickly waved her over and pointed to the door, behind which she heard groaning and worried voices. She directed one of her small party to go back and bring the others once the guards had all been killed or captured, and then knocked delicately on the door. 

“Highnesses?” she called, trying to pitch her voice higher, sounding fearful. “They’ve made it through the courtyard. What should I do?” She listened, holding her breath as she saw Vanitas’s shoulders twitch with silent laughter. A curse from inside, footsteps nearing the door. She held her sword at the ready. 

“Blast it all, girl, we told everyone where they were to report to when-“ The door was pulled back and the older man chastising her, presumably a steward from his attire and demeanor, was cut off as she ran him through without hesitation. Pushing his body backwards and off her blade, she stepped over it and into the room, the others sliding in behind her. 

“What a surprise!” Xion chuckled, swaggering over to the group of people surrounding a figure laid out on a bed. She recognized the blue-haired Queen, but a low growl from Vanitas behind her made evident that the blonde prince was not present. “It’s been too long. Are we going to do this the hard way, or are you willing to concede defeat before I’m forced to kill everyone in this room?” She heard a few gasps from the other people gathered, and a young maid probably no older than ten began to cry. The queen, however, just gave her a cold look with not a shred of fear in her eyes. 

“As Queen of the castle, I accept defeat and capture on behalf of the king and the royal family. Please do not harm our unarmed innocents.” She bowed her head, reaching behind her to grab the hand of the king, and Xion nodded in return. 

“Aye. Men, spread the word. Offer surrender to anyone else we come across. Oh, and Vanitas?” she called to her brother, trying but failing to hold back a predatory smile. “Could you please find the missing members of the royal family and bring them here?” Vanitas bowed with a broad wink before turning and stalking out of the room with one more of the men, leaving her and the pilot with the small crowd of prisoners. “So,” Xion asked the taller woman casually, pacing to a nearby chair and sitting in it the wrong way, draping herself over the back. “How many more is Vani going to find? If that little blonde is your only heir, you’d better hope my brother learns the word ‘mercy’ before their paths cross.” That was the first time she got a reaction from the woman; worry filled the queen’s thin, kind face, but she refused to reply, instead turning to gaze down at her husband. Xion shrugged, unperturbed that her goading had been ignored. She had won. The castle was hers. The throne was hers. Everything she had been waiting for. 

——- 

Vanitas found them, but it took him a good long while. 

After forcing his way into every room he could find in the lower gallery, he had returned to the upper levels and started to methodically search the rest of the castle. He found studies, servants quarters, the kitchen, guard barracks. Other pirates he came across, he spread the news to and had them begun rounding up anyone in the castle to bring to the great hall. And on he went. It was in the furthest wing that he finally stumbled upon his prize. 

Of all the places in the castle to hide, the blonde male from the parapet was standing out in the open in a common area of what must have been royal quarters. He held a sword and stood defensively, immediately drawing Vanitas’s attention the moment he crept into the space. 

“Get out of my home,” the blonde spat, taking a menacing step towards Vanitas. The dark-haired male laughed mockingly, crouching into a fighting stance of his own. 

“I came to tell you, little prince. Your mother just announced surrender, and your presence had been requested by the Queen.” The blonde snorted, taking another step toward Vanitas, and it was then that the pirate saw the reason the prince was way out here with no protection; he WAS the protection. For sitting haloed in a beam of afternoon sunlight was the purest angel. She was an exact, inverted copy of his sister; the perfectly familiar face he had known since her birth was framed with longer blonde locks, wearing a white lace shift with smudges of color across one cheek and both hands to the wrist. The girl was working over paper, perfect silhouette huddled inward as she poured herself onto the page. Vanitas looked from her to the angry prince and back again; the girl must be of royal descent, too, because he could see the similarities in the siblings when compared side by side. He smiled wide, straightening up and taking a casual step forward. “You know, I was ordered to offer surrender first.” Another step and he was brought close enough that if he stretched out an arm, he could touch the blonde’s clenched fists. “But ‘first’ implies that I have other options if that surrender is not given.” One more step, and he was close enough that he could see himself reflected in large, clear, wonderfully blue eyes. He tilted his head to the side and whispered conspiratorially while locking his eyes on the back of the blonde princess. “Did you not see my throw when I took down your father? Of course you did, what am I saying,” he paused, and before the blonde could blink, Vanitas had pressed a previously concealed knife against the smaller man’s throat hard enough to draw a few small beads of blood to bloom underneath. “You stoke a certain kill from me. I find I resent that.” The blonde glared at him, hatred and stubbornness burning from sapphire depths, and then suddenly the fight left him all at once. He slumped his shoulders, letting the sword fall from limp hands to clatter to the floor. 

“Don’t hurt her,” he whispered desperately, staring back into Vanitas’s golden eyes. “I’m the crown prince, you can do what you want with me, but please, leave her alone.” Vanitas nodded, pulling a length of black cord from a small pouch at his waist and circling behind the prince’s back and securing his wrists tightly together with quick efficiency. 

“Princess?” he questioned right in the blonde’s ear, feeling his captive shudder with distaste under his hands. The shorter man nodded, eyes squeezed shut and face turned away. Vanitas snorted, checking that the bonds were secure and tight before he turned away towards the sunlit beauty. 

“Hello, sweetheart. I’m Prince Vanitas.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like what you see here? I’ve got more!
> 
> Finished:  
There’s An App For That  
Into The Unknown  
Discord Required  
In progress:  
Angel With A Shotgun  
Got It Memorized?  
A Pirate’s Life For Me  
Reddit Nosleep Thread
> 
> Plus more to come! ❤️


End file.
